


good luck

by sincerelysobbe



Category: WTFock | Skam (Belgium)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon, M/M, mild spoilers for Pokémon Sword and Shield, really self-indulgent fic, self-indulgent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26984116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sincerelysobbe/pseuds/sincerelysobbe
Summary: Robbe is a Gym Challenger in the Galar region who has fought his way to the finals round of the competition. As he awaits his next battle, which will be the last battle before getting to face the Champion, he's visited in the locker room by his adopted sister and two of his rivals.Alternate Universe - Pokémon
Relationships: Sander Driesen/Robbe IJzermans
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	good luck

**Author's Note:**

> THIS IS EXTREMELY SELF-INDULGENT. You've been warned. 
> 
> note: this is also not edited and probably won't be. i'm sorry about that.

If someone had told Robbe a year ago that he would be here, he would’ve laughed in their faces and called them crazy. 

Robbe was a simple farmer’s boy—helping his mom with the Wooloo and the Budew that liked to come back every day in search of bright sunlight and fresh flowers and arguing with his adopted sister over the particulars that they both knew. Even though his mother had Wooloos and Budews and a Munchlax, Robbe had never had his own Pokémon. He had dreamed of it—imagined that he would become a Trainer—would have his own Pokémon to call his own—but he never thought he would be able to get one and become a challenger in the Gym Challenge that he would religiously watch every year. 

But, here he was. 

Not only was Robbe a Gym Challenger, but he was also the _winner_ of the Gym Challenge. He had traveled the region alongside his adopted sister and her Kirilia, collecting each and every one of the Gym Badges that he could, and fought his way to Wyndon—being one of four trainers that had reached that goal. And, he had beaten one of his new rivals and his best friend to claim the final spot to the next tournament—with the Gym Leaders who weren’t holding back and fighting to get to the same place he was.

The Champion.

In reality, Robbe thought the entire thing was funny to think about. 

It had only been because of the Champion—Aaron’s older brother, Alaric—returning home that he was able to get a Pokémon in the first place so he could be a trainer like he always wanted. It had been because of Alaric endorsing all of them—Jens, Moyo, Aaron, and Robbe—that he was even in the Gym Challenge, to begin with. Without Alaric, Robbe would still be at home, on the couch with his mama and Zoë watching the tournament. But, he was participating in it and he was gunning for the spot that Alaric had held uncontested for the past seven years. 

And, with each passing battle, an exhilarating but frantic feeling shot through his stomach. He could hear the pounding of his heart in his ears and feel the bumps all the way into his fingertips. Robbe was so close to the position that he had dreamed about for years. Even though Robbe would be happy with any spot that he ended up in, he didn’t get this far to stop now. Robbe wanted to go as far as he possibly could—but that didn’t make the journey there any less nerve-wracking.

“Robbe.”

The use of his name caused him to turn and—seconds later—he was crashed into by Zoë, who nearly knocked him off his feet and he struggled to regain balance. Zoë’s chuckle was light in his ear as she clung to his Challenger uniform—covered with grass, dirt, and minor burns—a little tighter. Finally, she pulled away from him and smiled at him. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” he admitted. “How did you get in here?”

“I let her.” Robbe turned to find Senne De Smet walking toward them. Senne was a Gym Challenger too, but he had been unable to get past Raihan and his double battles before the deadline. In addition, he was the son of one of Macro Cosmos’s higher executives—which meant he could be given access pretty much anywhere that he asked for it. His hair was styled to perfection as he walked towards them. He was dressed in a pair of jeans with a white shirt with a Perrserker outline on it. “She wasn’t giving me any other choice.”

While Senne hadn’t given up on Zoë, who made a dramatic show of rolling her eyes, Robbe could see the small upturn of her lips. 

Right behind Senne was Sander Driesen, who walked up with his hands tucked into the pockets of his leather jacket. Sander was one of Robbe’s newfound rivals through the Gym Challenge—alongside Senne—and they had frequently battled each other over the course of the past few months or so. In addition, he had been Robbe’s first opponent in the semi-finals and Robbe had barely scraped by with the victory. But, what else could he expect from a Gym Leader’s little brother?

Since Robbe had met Sander all those months ago—in the lobby of the Motostoke Gym on the day that they had all signed up for the Opening Ceremonies, he had only seen Sander in a handful of graphic t-shirts, a black leather jacket, an assortment of skinny jeans, and a black pair of Doc Martens that were worn to the seam. Even now, he didn’t look much different though he seemed to be wearing a new graphic t-shirt with an Obstagoon on the front. His bleach-blond hair was all messed up and his green eyes were focused solely on Robbe. 

Sander’s trusty partner—the electric mouse Morpeko—was half-resting on his bag and half-asleep against the leather fabric of his shoulder. 

“Hey,” Robbe said. 

“Hey.” Sander grinned at him—bright and beautiful like he always was—and Robbe tried to resist the urge to blush bright red. There was a knowing look in Zoë’s eyes that told him that he was highly likely failing at doing so. Not like his crush on Sander had exactly been obvious to her from the very beginning. Thankfully, to Robbe’s relief, Sander seemed to be oblivious of it. “Are you nervous to face Raihan?” Sander asked. 

“Yeah, a little,” Robbe said, sighing. He ran a hand through his unrestrained curls as Zoë rubbed soothing circles on his back. The nerves that had been continuously bouncing in his stomach had started anew with twice the intensity. “I barely managed to win against him the last time.” 

“At least this time around, it won’t be double battles,” Senne offered, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“That’s true,” Robbe said. Turning away from Senne and Sander, he glanced towards Zoë who instinctively raised her head to catch his eyes. “Tell Jens and everyone that I said hi, okay?” Zoë nodded before throwing her arms back around him. She clung to his shoulders tightly, as if she was trying to settle the nerves roaring to life in his stomach. 

“We better go before we get caught,” Senne said. 

Zoë nodded before placing a lipstick-stained kiss against his cheek. “You’ve got this.” 

Even as the unruly nerves bounced around in his stomach, Robbe felt himself mirroring her movement before she started to walk away, following Senne’s path towards the elevator. However, Sander remained rooted in his spot with his hands in his pocket. Senne stopped halfway and asked, “Are you coming?”

Sander shook his head. “I’m waiting for my brother.” 

His answer didn’t seem to satisfy Senne, who sent him a look. However, Senne didn’t fight him and continued moving back to the elevator. Once Zoë and Senne were in the elevator, she seemed to ask him something under her breath. Almost instantaneously, their signature bickering had started up, their conversation virtually unintelligible, before the elevator doors had even fully closed.

After two frantic beats of Robbe’s heart, Sander turned towards him and deadpanned, “Maybe they’ll get stuck in the elevator and finally admit their feelings for one another.” Without warning, the laugh ripped through Robbe, settling the nerves in his stomach, and Sander’s smile cracked a little further and a little brighter. Morpeko was jostled on his shoulder. “I swear, if I have to go another month of their hot-and-cold banter, I’m going to go insane—I know you know what I’m talking about.”

“Yeah, maybe a little,” Robbe said, chuckling. There was a long pause of silence between them, seemingly heavier in the silence and solitude of the empty locker room. Even Robbe’s Pokémon, tucked safely away in their pokeballs, seemed to be shaking with restless excitement. “So, what are you going to do?”

Sander blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, um,” Robbe started, scratching behind his ear. “When we were at Spikemuth, your brother said that he wanted you to take over as the Leader when the Challenge was over. But, you said that you didn’t want to and that you wanted to find your own way and become Champion.” Sander blinked at him, a small smile turning on his face, and Robbe felt his cheeks heat up more. “I was just curious whether or not you were going to actually do it or not.” 

“Become the Leader of Spikemuth?” Sander asked. 

“Yeah,” Robbe said. “I think you’d be pretty good at it.” Sander smiled at him, ducking his head down, as his smile blossomed a little further. “Though,” Robbe added. “I think you’d have to get a few more dark types before you could _technically_ be named the Gym Leader.” 

Sander nodded. “Yeah, I’d have to do that and a few more things,” Sander said. “I don’t know if I’ll take over immediately.” He shrugged his shoulders and took a step closer towards Robbe. Even though there was still an arm’s length between them, Robbe could feel his traitorous heart skip another beat. “I might go out and travel a little bit. Maybe go travel through Sinnoh for a little bit—I always wanted to go there.” 

“Me too,” Robbe said, smiling. “I always wanted to see the Lakes—and Snowpoint City. My mom was born there, but we never got a chance to go.” 

“Did you want to go with me to Sinnoh?” Sander asked.

For two very long heartbeats, the question didn’t register on Robbe’s mind. His mind was focused on his mother’s stories of the mountains and the contests on television and the harsh but beautiful winters. Then, all at once, something clicked and the question registered in his mind. Robbe had to assume that he looked comical as he spun back to Sander with eyes wide with disbelief. 

But, there was a nervous look on Sander’s face—one that Robbe was certain he had never seen before in the months that they had known each other. “Wait, what?” Robbe asked. 

“If I decided to go to Sinnoh, would you want to go with me?” Sander asked. 

Even as Sander took another step toward Robbe, dimensioning the space between them a little more, there was a nervous look written on his face. It was barely detectable on his features, only really noticeable from the way that he bit his bottom lip, but there was still the confident look in his eyes—like he wanted Robbe to say yes—like he knew that Robbe wanted to say yes. Sander’s green eyes swept over his face before landing finally on his lips and Robbe felt a sweep of warm shoot through him. 

“Challenger Robbe.” 

Robbe turned, finding the Macro Cosmos employee standing at the entrance to the stadium. He was dressed like all the other employees that filled the stadium—with a white ball-cap and a matching uniform. He had his arms crossed behind his back as he waited patiently. Robbe swallowed. “Yes?”

“Gym Leader Raihan is ready for the match whenever you are,” the employee informed them. 

The nerves in Robbe’s stomach increased another notch, somehow, and Robbe swallowed the knot that was forming in his throat. “Okay,” he said. “Thank you.” The employee nodded, moving back toward the tunnel and waiting right around the corner. Robbe turned back to Sander, who was still facing him with a nervous look on his face. Robbe swallowed. “Yes.”

For half of a second, Sander blinked at him in confusion, similarly caught off-guard as Robbe had been earlier. But, it didn’t take long before a smile—a bright and beautiful smile—blossomed across Sander’s features with ease. “Okay,” he said. Robbe could hear the happiness in his voice and it made Robbe want to smile just as much. Sander swallowed, nodding toward the door. “You better get out there. Don’t want to keep the crowd waiting any longer.”

Robbe laughed. “Yeah,” he said. With one final glance at Sander, Robbe moved back toward the tunnel where his next opponent—and, technically, the rest of the region were waiting. “Wish me luck.” 

Somewhere behind him, Sander chuckled and said, “You don’t need it.” Robbe smiled, feeling the warm blush creeping up on his cheeks at the thought that Sander had so much faith in him. But, he had barely managed to get two steps before he heard Sander speak up again, “Wait, Robbe. Hold on.” 

Stopping, Robbe turned back toward Sander, who was in motion, moving closer and closer to Robbe. He took one, two, three steps forward and effectively closed the remaining space between them. Morpeko was gone from his shoulder and Robbe had no idea where the little Pokémon had gone but was far too distracted to look. Sander was about a breath away—he could lean forward and kiss Robbe if he wanted to—and Robbe felt his heartbeat pick up a little further at the prospect of such a thing. 

After one long moment, Sander’s eyes flickered down to his lips—again—and Robbe let out a strangled noise before tilting his head up, a silent plea to close the distance. For a second, Robbe feared that Sander wouldn’t understand but, barely a heartbeat later, Sander was surging forward and dragging their lips together in one frantic motion. 

As soon as Sander’s lips were pressed against his, Robbe felt his entire body go slack with relief and stumbled against Sander’s chest. Sander seemed to have anticipated it because his arms wrapped securely around Robbe’s waist, holding him tightly against his body. Even though there was an important battle waiting for him, Robbe kissed Sander back with everything that he had, gripping hard onto the lapels of his leather jacket as he opened his mouth to Sander’s tongue. 

After what felt like a few minutes—or maybe a few hours—Sander pulled back, breathing heavily against Robbe’s mouth. It wasn’t like Robbe was doing much better, out of breath and holding onto Sander’s leather jacket so tightly. If Robbe had his way, he would draw Sander out on the pitch with him—but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to do that. 

“I have to go,” Robbe said.

“I know,” Sander whispered. For a second, they were quiet again—until Sander kissed Robbe again, holding him tightly. This kiss was much more chaste than the last one—less desperate—but Robbe still clung to him all the same, unwilling to let go of him until he absolutely had to. When they separated again, their noses purposely brushing together, Sander let out a breath, “Good luck.” 

Robbe smiled. “Thank you.” 

Letting out one last breath—and stealing one more fleeting kiss, Sander scooped up Morpeko from his spot on one of the benches and moved towards the elevator. Robbe waited until the doors opened and Sander stepped inside before moving towards the tunnel. But, then, Sander called for him one more time and he turned to see a wicked grin spread out across Sander’s face. “Kick Raihan’s ass for me, okay?”

Robbe grinned. “Okay.” 

Once the elevator doors closed completely, Robbe turned fully toward the tunnel. The Macro Cosmos employee was waiting at the tunnel, still barely out of sight until Robbe stepped around the corner. Even though he knew that the employee had to be aware that he and Sander made out five feet from him, the employee pretended to be oblivious to what happened on Robbe’s behalf. He held out his arm toward the exit and said, “Right this way, Challenger Robbe.”


End file.
